1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates to lens systems for capsule endoscopes having large fields of view and capsule endoscopes having lens systems with large fields of view.
2. Discussion of Related Art
A capsule endoscope is a diagnostic instrument in the form of a swallowable optical imaging device. The instrument is sized to be small enough and shaped such as in the shape of an ellipsoid capsule to be swallowed by the patient. The capsule endoscope is typically provided with one or more light emitting units for providing illumination of a scene being imaged, a wide-angle imaging lens system, an image sensor for receiving raw image data, a processing unit for processing the raw image data, a wireless transceiver for transmitting image data and a power unit such as a battery.
A technician activates the endoscope for imaging, and then the patient being examined swallows the endoscope. As the endoscope passes through the esophagus, stomach and intestines, it gathers and transmits image data. Because of the relatively short time available to gather image data, and the possibility of inconvenient or non-optimal capsule positioning, it is very important that the endoscope be outfitted with high-quality, wide-angle, large-field-of-view optics to increase the possibility of obtaining desirable images.